Method, device, equipment and storage medium for inkjet printing in overlapping area of head groups

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of nozzle group overlap area ink-jet printing method, device, equipment and storage medium, it is related to ink-jet printing technical field.The method includes by increasing to N nozzle group (N>M) out ink printing to be printed image by the original M nozzle group, while corresponding printing data in the overlap area is split and the printing data in the overlap area is feathered processing after distribution to corresponding nozzle printing, by the way of increasing nozzle group, the height of splicing area in nozzle group is flexibly adjusted, it is helpful to split original printing data into multiple nozzle group printing, while the printing data corresponding to nozzle in the splicing area of original nozzle group is scattered to the nozzle in larger range splicing area and printed, improve the image uniformity while the printing effect of splicing area in nozzle group is improved, to improve the overall image printing effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of inkjet printing technology, and in particular to an inkjet printing method, apparatus, equipment, and storage medium for overlapping areas of printhead assembly. Background Technology

[0002] Inkjet printing technology refers to the technology of ejecting ink droplets from a printhead onto a printing medium to obtain images or text. Since the height of the printhead is fixed, to increase the width of the printed image in a single scan, it is often... Figure 1 The diagram shows a printhead group formed by stitching together multiple printheads along the sub-scanning direction Y. The height of the printhead group is the width of the image printed in one scan. However, because some nozzles overlap when stitching the printheads, if all overlapping nozzles were to eject ink during printing, the ink density at the stitching point would be increased, affecting the overall printing quality. Therefore, the print data corresponding to the stitching point is feathered before inkjet printing.

[0003] However, in some actual production processes, in order to make effective use of the printheads, the number of overlapping holes between printheads is relatively small when splicing printheads. Therefore, even after feathering, the printing effect of the spliced ​​track is not good enough. Moreover, since the printheads are already fixed on the base plate, it is impossible to move the printheads to change the size of the splicing area and thus increase the number of overlapping holes to improve the printing effect of the printhead splicing track. How to improve the image printing quality of the splicing track without moving the printheads is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide an inkjet printing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for overlapping areas of printhead groups, in order to solve the problem of poor image printing effect at the splicing points of printhead groups in the prior art.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide an inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of printhead groups, which increases the number of printhead groups from M to N to print an image to be printed, wherein N is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, N is greater than M, and M is a natural number greater than or equal to 1. The N printhead groups are arranged along the main scanning direction, and one printhead group is composed of at least two printheads joined together. The method includes:

[0006] Obtain the printing data corresponding to the overlapping area between the N printhead groups from the original printing data corresponding to the M printhead groups;

[0007] The print data is split into first print data and second print data, wherein the first print data is printed by the nozzles of the splicing area in the overlapping region, and the second print data is printed by the nozzles of the non-splicing area in the overlapping region.

[0008] After splitting the first printed data into N first printed data units, feathering is performed on each first printed data unit to obtain N first feathered printed data units and N first complementary feathered printed data units.

[0009] The second printed data is divided into N second printed data units;

[0010] The N copies of the first feathering print data unit and the N copies of the first complementary feathering print data unit are combined with the N copies of the second print data unit and then sent to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output and printing.

[0011] Preferably, the step of combining N copies of the first feathering print data unit and N copies of the first complementary feathering print data unit with N copies of the second print data unit and then sending them to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output printing includes:

[0012] The second print data unit is divided into at least a second print data subunit J and a second print data subunit K;

[0013] The first feathering print data unit and the second print data subunit J are combined to obtain the third print data;

[0014] The first complementary feathering print data unit and the second print data subunit K are combined to obtain the fourth print data;

[0015] Similarly, N sets of third printing data and N sets of fourth printing data are obtained and sent to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output and printing.

[0016] Preferably, different first feathering templates are used to feather each of the first print data units to obtain N copies of first feathered print data and N copies of first complementary feathered print data.

[0017] Preferably, the same first feathering template is used to feather each of the first print data units to obtain N copies of first feathered print data and N copies of first complementary feathered print data.

[0018] Preferably, N equals 2, and the step of splitting the first printed data into N first printed data units includes:

[0019] The first print data is split into N first print data units using a second feathering template.

[0020] Preferably, the first feathering template and the second feathering template are the same or the first feathering template and the second feathering template are different.

[0021] Preferably, the height of the splicing area is determined according to the arrangement of the N nozzle groups, and the height of the first feathering template is the height of the splicing area.

[0022] Secondly, embodiments of the present invention provide an inkjet printing device for overlapping areas of printhead groups. The device increases the number of printhead groups from M to N, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, N is greater than M, and M is a natural number greater than or equal to 1. The N printhead groups are arranged along the main scanning direction, and each printhead group is composed of at least two printheads joined together. The device includes:

[0023] The print data acquisition module is used to acquire the print data corresponding to the overlapping area between the N print head groups from the original print data corresponding to the M print head groups;

[0024] The first splitting module is used to split the print data into first print data and second print data, wherein the first print data is printed by the nozzles of the splicing area in the overlapping region, and the second print data is printed by the nozzles of the non-splicing area in the overlapping region.

[0025] The feathering module is used to split the first print data into N first print data units, and then feather each of the first print data units to obtain N first feathered print data units and N first complementary feathered print data units.

[0026] The second splitting module is used to split the second printed data into N second printed data units;

[0027] The printing module is used to combine N copies of the first feathered printing data unit and N copies of the first complementary feathered printing data unit with N copies of the second printing data unit and send them to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output and printing.

[0028] Thirdly, embodiments of the present invention provide an inkjet printing device for overlapping areas of printhead groups, comprising: at least one processor, at least one memory, and computer program instructions stored in the memory, wherein when the computer program instructions are executed by the processor, the method of the first aspect described above is implemented.

[0029] Fourthly, embodiments of the present invention provide a storage medium storing computer program instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the method of the first aspect described above.

[0030] In summary, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0031] The inkjet printing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for overlapping areas of printhead groups provided in this invention increase the number of printhead groups from M to N to print the image to be printed. Simultaneously, the printing data corresponding to the overlapping areas is split, and the printing data of the splicing areas within the overlapping areas is feathered before being distributed to the corresponding nozzles for printing. By increasing the number of printhead groups, the height of the splicing areas within the printhead groups can be flexibly adjusted, which helps to split the original printing data into multiple printhead groups for printing. At the same time, the printing data corresponding to the nozzles in the splicing areas of the original printhead groups is distributed to nozzles in a larger area of ​​the splicing areas for printing, improving image uniformity and the printing effect of the splicing areas within the printhead groups, thereby improving the overall image printing effect. Attached Figure Description

[0032] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort, and these are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of nozzle splicing in the background art of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a reciprocating scanning inkjet printing device in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a Single-Pass inkjet printing device in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the original nozzle assembly and the new nozzle assembly in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the original nozzle assembly and the new nozzle assembly in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the original nozzle assembly and the new nozzle assembly in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 7 This is a schematic flowchart of the inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of the printhead assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the splitting of print data according to the original printhead group in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram showing the division of the various regions of the new nozzle group in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 10This is a schematic diagram of the feathering template and the complementary feathering template in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the splitting and feathering of the first printed data in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the splitting of the second printed data in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of data merging in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the nozzles corresponding to the third and fourth printing data in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the inkjet printing device for the overlapping area of ​​the printhead assembly in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an inkjet printing device for the overlapping area of ​​the printhead assembly in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0049] The features and exemplary embodiments of various aspects of the present invention will now be described in detail. To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only configured to explain the present invention and are not configured to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention can be practiced without some of these specific details. The following description of the embodiments is merely intended to provide a better understanding of the present invention by illustrating examples of the invention.

[0050] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0051] Example 1

[0052] This invention provides an inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of printhead groups. This method is applicable to reciprocating scanning inkjet printers, single-pass inkjet printers, etc. The device originally includes M printhead groups, each printhead group consisting of at least two printhead nozzles overlapping and splicing along a secondary scanning direction, where M is a natural number greater than or equal to 1. Here, the secondary scanning direction is perpendicular to the primary scanning direction. For example,... Figure 2 As shown, in a reciprocating scanning inkjet printer, the printing carriage is equipped with a printhead assembly consisting of several printheads. The printing carriage reciprocates along the main scanning direction to print ink, while the secondary scanning direction is the direction of media movement. Figure 3 As shown, in a Single-Pass inkjet printer, the printing carriage is equipped with a printhead assembly consisting of several printheads. The printing carriage is fixed, and the printing medium moves along the main scanning direction. The direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction is the secondary scanning direction. To improve the image printing quality corresponding to the printhead splicing path, this embodiment of the invention increases the number of printhead assemblies from M to N. In one embodiment, as shown... Figure 4 As shown, printhead group 1 is the original printhead group (M=1). Adding one printhead group creates a new printhead group, i.e., two printhead groups (N=2) to print the image to be printed. The two printhead groups are arranged along the main scanning direction. The splicing points 41 and 42 in adjacent printhead groups are staggered, and there is no nozzle gap between the two splicing points. Region 43 is designated as the splicing area. In another embodiment, as... Figure 5 As shown, two nozzle groups are arranged along the main scanning direction. The joints 51 and 52 of adjacent nozzle groups are staggered, with several nozzle gaps between each joint. Region 53 is designated as the joint area. The number of nozzles between the joints can be adjusted flexibly according to actual conditions and is not limited here, but it must be ensured that the joints of the nozzle groups do not overlap when arranged. In another embodiment, as... Figure 6 As shown, M=2, N=4, and the joints in the newly added nozzle groups will be spaced apart from the joints in the original nozzle groups. The final number of nozzle groups N depends on the actual situation and is not limited here.

[0053] Please see Figure 7 The inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of the printhead assembly specifically includes the following steps:

[0054] S1: Obtain N print data corresponding to the overlapping areas between the printhead groups from the original print data corresponding to the M printhead groups;

[0055] S2: The print data is split into first print data and second print data, wherein the first print data is printed by the nozzles of the splicing area in the overlapping area, and the second print data is printed by the nozzles of the non-splicing area in the overlapping area.

[0056] S3: After splitting the first printed data into N first printed data units, feathering is performed on each first printed data unit to obtain N first feathered printed data units and N first complementary feathered printed data units.

[0057] S4: Divide the second printed data into N second printed data units;

[0058] S5: Combine N copies of the first feathering print data unit and N copies of the first complementary feathering print data unit with N copies of the second print data unit and send them to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output and printing.

[0059] Specifically, since the image to be printed, originally printed by M printhead groups, is now printed by N printhead groups, the original print data corresponding to the image to be printed needs to be split back into N printhead groups for ink output and printing. In this embodiment, as shown in the example... Figure 5 The example shown is of a new printhead assembly printing an image to be printed, illustrating how to split the original print data corresponding to the original image to be printed. For example... Figure 8 As shown, print data 10 corresponds to the original print data of the image to be printed from the original M printhead groups (M=1). Since the original printhead group is composed of two printheads 1 and 2, the original print data 10 needs to be split into two parts and distributed to the two printheads for printing. The print data corresponding to the printhead splicing point needs to be split using a feathering template so that the nozzles corresponding to the two printheads at the splicing point each print half of the data with ink.

[0060] The new nozzle group includes two nozzle groups (N=2). Because the two nozzle groups are not arranged side-by-side along the main scanning direction, there is an overlapping area between the two nozzle groups, such as... Figure 9As shown, region 71 is the overlapping area between the two printhead groups, while regions 72 and 73 are the non-overlapping areas between the two printhead groups. The original print data of the image to be printed, originally allocated to one printhead group, is distributed to both printhead groups for printing. With the print width remaining constant, it can be seen that the nozzles in regions 71 and 72 are ink-ejecting areas. In another embodiment, to effectively utilize the nozzles, region 73 can also be ink-ejecting area; simply extract the print data from the corresponding location and allocate it to the nozzles in region 73 for printing. Because regions 72 and 73 do not have overlapping nozzles, the print data in these two regions does not need to be split. However, region 71 contains overlapping nozzles and also includes the splicing area within the printhead group; therefore, the print data in this area needs to be split and feathered to ensure good image printing quality.

[0061] Therefore, it is necessary to obtain the overlapping areas between N nozzle groups (e.g. Figure 9 The printed data corresponding to area 71 shown is denoted as area printed data, and this area printed data is divided into first printed data and second printed data. The first printed data corresponds to the area spliced ​​from N nozzle groups (e.g., Figure 9 The area shown (77) is used for ink output printing. The second print data corresponds to the non-joined areas (such as...) in the N printhead groups. Figure 9 Ink output printing is performed in areas 78 and 79 shown.

[0062] For the splicing area 77, not only does it need to split its corresponding print data, but feathering processing of the print data is also required at the splicing point. Therefore, the first print data is first split into N first print data units, and each first print data unit is assigned to a splicing area of ​​a printhead group. Then, feathering processing is performed on the print data of the splicing area in each printhead group, that is, feathering processing is performed on each first print data unit. Specifically, one first print data unit is ANDed with the feathering template and the complementary feathering template to obtain one first feathered print data unit and one first complementary feathered print data unit; feathering processing is performed on N first print data units to obtain N first feathered print data units and N first complementary feathered print data units. In one embodiment, the same feathering template is used to feather all N first print data units to obtain N first feathered print data units and N first complementary feathered print data units. Using the same feathering template for each first print data unit makes the feathering process relatively fast and simple. In another embodiment, each first print data unit is feathered using a different feathering template, or at least one different feathering template, resulting in N first feathered print data units and N first complementary feathered print data units. Using a different feathering template for each first print data unit allows for varying feathering effects in the splicing area, which improves the feathering printing effect in the splicing area and thus enhances the final image printing quality. It is worth noting that regardless of whether the same or different feathering templates are used to feather the first print data units, the height of the feathering template is determined by the height of the splicing area, which in turn is determined by the arrangement of the new printhead assembly in the main scanning direction.

[0063] like Figure 10 The image shown is an example of a feathered template for the splicing area. Because Figure 9 The height of the splicing area is 6 nozzles (the number of nozzles represents the height of each area, hereinafter referred to as nozzles, or simply the numerical value, i.e., the height is 6), and the corresponding feathering template height is also 6. The width of the feathering template can be set according to the actual situation. In this embodiment, the width of the printed data is 5, and the width of the feathering template is also 5.

[0064] In one embodiment, when N=2, the first print data needs to be divided into two first print data units. In this case, a feathering template can be used for this division. For example... Figure 11 As shown, the first printed data corresponding to the splicing area 77 is compared with... Figure 10 The feathered template shown is ANDed to obtain the first print data unit A. The first print data is then ANDed with the template shown. Figure 10The complementary template of the feathered template shown is ANDed to obtain the first print data unit B. Further, the first print data unit A is used with a second feathered template (and its complementary template) to generate first feathered print data unit C and first complementary feathered print data unit D; the first print data unit B is used with a third feathered template (and its complementary template) to generate first feathered print data unit E and first complementary feathered print data unit F. In this embodiment, the first feathered template and the second feathered template are not the same; in another embodiment, the first feathered template and the second feathered template can be the same feathered template.

[0065] In addition to processing the first print data corresponding to the spliced ​​area 77 in the overlapping area 71, it is also necessary to process the second print data corresponding to the non-spliced ​​areas 78 and 79 in the overlapping area 71. Since there are no spliced ​​nozzles in the non-spliced ​​areas, it is only necessary to divide the second print data into N second print data units according to the number of printhead groups N. Each second print data unit corresponds to ink output and printing by a nozzle in a non-spliced ​​area of ​​a printhead group. Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram showing how the second printed data (the dashed box 81 represents the corresponding position of the first printed data) is evenly divided into the second printed data unit H and the second printed data unit I when N=2.

[0066] Finally, the N copies of the first feathering print data unit and the N copies of the first complementary print data unit are respectively combined with the N copies of the second print data unit, and sent to the corresponding nozzles in the N nozzle groups for ink output and printing. Preferably, the specific steps of data combination are as follows:

[0067] The second print data unit shall be divided into at least a second print data subunit J and a second print data subunit K;

[0068] The first feathering print data unit and the second print data subunit J are combined to obtain the third print data unit;

[0069] The first complementary feathering print data unit and the second print data subunit K are combined to obtain the fourth print data unit;

[0070] Similarly, N copies of the third print data unit and N copies of the fourth print data unit are obtained and sent to the corresponding nozzles in the N nozzle groups for ink output and printing.

[0071] like Figure 12 As shown, the second print data unit H is divided into second print data subunit J and second print data subunit K according to the number of printheads in a printhead group, and the second print data unit I is divided into second print data subunit R and second print data subunit S. When combining them, as follows... Figure 13As shown, the second print data subunit J and the first feathered print data unit C are combined to obtain the third print data X, and the second print data subunit K and the first complementary feathered print data unit D are combined to obtain the fourth print data Y. The second print data subunit R and the first feathered print data unit E are combined to obtain the third print data W, and the second print data subunit S and the first complementary feathered print data unit F are combined to obtain the fourth print data Z. The third print data X and Y, and the fourth print data W and Z are respectively distributed to the corresponding nozzles for ink output and printing, as follows. Figure 14 As shown, the third print data X is printed by ink output from nozzle 111 in the new printhead group, the fourth print data Y is printed by ink output from nozzle 112 in the new printhead group, the third print data W is printed by ink output from nozzle 113 in the new printhead group, and the fourth print data Z is printed by ink output from nozzle 114 in the new printhead group.

[0072] In summary, the inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of printhead groups provided in this embodiment of the invention increases the original M printhead groups to N printhead groups to print the image to be printed. At the same time, the printing data corresponding to the overlapping areas is split and the printing data of the splicing areas in the overlapping areas is feathered before being distributed to the corresponding nozzles for printing. By increasing the number of printhead groups, the height of the splicing areas in the printhead groups can be flexibly adjusted, which helps to split the original printing data into multiple printhead groups for printing. At the same time, the printing data corresponding to the nozzles of the splicing areas in the original printhead groups is distributed to the nozzles of a larger splicing area for printing. This improves the uniformity of the image and the printing effect of the splicing areas in the printhead groups, thereby improving the overall image printing effect.

[0073] Example 2

[0074] Please see Figure 15 This invention provides an inkjet printing device 200 for overlapping areas of printhead groups. The device increases the number of printhead groups from M to N, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, N is greater than M, and M is a natural number greater than or equal to 1. The N printhead groups are arranged along the main scanning direction, and each printhead group consists of at least two printheads joined together. The device includes:

[0075] The print data acquisition module 201 is used to acquire the region print data corresponding to the overlapping area between the N print head groups from the original print data corresponding to the M print head groups;

[0076] The first splitting module 202 is used to split the area printing data into first printing data and second printing data, wherein the first printing data is printed by the nozzles of the splicing area in the overlapping area, and the second printing data is printed by the nozzles of the non-splicing area in the overlapping area.

[0077] Feathering module 203 is used to split the first print data into N first print data units, and then feather each of the first print data units to obtain N first feathered print data units and N first complementary feathered print data units.

[0078] The second splitting module 204 is used to split the second print data into N second print data units;

[0079] The printing module 205 is used to combine N copies of the first feathering printing data unit and N copies of the first complementary feathering printing data unit with N copies of the second printing data unit and send them to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output and printing.

[0080] Furthermore, the printing module 205 includes:

[0081] A splitting unit is used to divide the second print data unit into at least a second print data subunit J and a second print data subunit K;

[0082] The first merging unit is used to merge the first feathering print data unit and the second print data subunit J to obtain the third print data;

[0083] The second assembly unit is used to combine the first complementary feathering print data unit and the second print data subunit K to obtain the fourth print data.

[0084] The printing unit is used to obtain N copies of the third printing data and N copies of the fourth printing data, and send them to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output and printing.

[0085] In summary, the inkjet printing device for overlapping areas of printhead groups provided in this embodiment of the invention increases the original M printhead groups to N printhead groups to print the image to be printed. At the same time, it splits the printing data corresponding to the overlapping areas and feathers the printing data of the splicing areas in the overlapping areas before distributing them to the corresponding nozzles for printing. By increasing the number of printhead groups, the height of the splicing areas in the printhead groups can be flexibly adjusted, which helps to split the original printing data into multiple printhead groups for printing. At the same time, the printing data corresponding to the nozzles of the splicing areas in the original printhead groups is distributed to the nozzles of a larger splicing area for printing. This improves the uniformity of the image and the printing effect of the splicing areas in the printhead groups, thereby improving the overall image printing effect.

[0086] Example 3

[0087] In addition, the inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of printhead groups in this embodiment of the invention can be implemented by an inkjet printing device for overlapping areas of printhead groups. Figure 16A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of an inkjet printing device with overlapping printhead areas provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0088] The inkjet printing device for overlapping printhead areas may include a processor 301 and a memory 302 storing computer program instructions.

[0089] Specifically, the processor 301 may include a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits that can be configured to implement the embodiments of the present invention.

[0090] Memory 302 may include mass storage for data or instructions. For example, and not limitingly, memory 302 may include a hard disk drive (HDD), floppy disk drive, flash memory, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, magnetic tape, or Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, or a combination of two or more of these. Where appropriate, memory 302 may include removable or non-removable (or fixed) media. Where appropriate, memory 302 may be internal or external to a data processing device. In a particular embodiment, memory 302 is a non-volatile solid-state memory. In a particular embodiment, memory 302 includes read-only memory (ROM). Where appropriate, the ROM may be a mask-programmed ROM, a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), an electrically rewritable ROM (EAROM), or flash memory, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0091] The processor 301 reads and executes computer program instructions stored in the memory 302 to implement any of the inkjet printing methods for overlapping areas of printhead groups in the above embodiments.

[0092] In one example, the inkjet printing device for overlapping printhead areas may also include a communication interface 303 and a bus 310. Wherein, as Figure 16 As shown, the processor 301, memory 302, and communication interface 303 are connected through bus 310 and complete communication with each other.

[0093] The communication interface 303 is mainly used to realize communication between various modules, devices, units and / or equipment in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0094] Bus 310 includes hardware, software, or both, that couples components of an inkjet printing apparatus together in the printhead overlap area. For example, and not as a limitation, bus 310 may include an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) or other graphics bus, an Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, a Front Side Bus (FSB), HyperTransport (HT) interconnect, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, an Infinite Bandwidth Interconnect, a Low Pin Count (LPC) bus, a memory bus, a Microchannel Architecture (MCA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI-Express (PCI-X) bus, a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) bus, a Video Electronics Standards Association Local (VLB) bus, or other suitable buses, or combinations of two or more of these. Where appropriate, bus 310 may include one or more buses. While specific buses are described and illustrated in embodiments of the invention, the invention contemplates any suitable bus or interconnect.

[0095] Example 4

[0096] Furthermore, in conjunction with the inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of printhead groups in the above embodiments, this invention can be implemented using a computer-readable storage medium. This computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions; when these computer program instructions are executed by the processor 301, they implement any of the inkjet printing methods for overlapping areas of printhead groups in the above embodiments.

[0097] In summary, the inkjet printing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for overlapping areas of printhead groups provided in this embodiment of the invention increase the original M printhead groups to N printhead groups to print the image to be printed. Simultaneously, the printing data corresponding to the overlapping areas is split, and the printing data of the splicing areas within the overlapping areas is feathered before being distributed to the corresponding nozzles for printing. By increasing the number of printhead groups, the height of the splicing areas within the printhead groups can be flexibly adjusted, which helps to split the original printing data into multiple printhead groups for printing. At the same time, the printing data corresponding to the nozzles in the splicing areas of the original printhead groups is distributed to nozzles in a larger area of ​​the splicing area for printing. This improves image uniformity and enhances the printing effect of the splicing areas within the printhead groups, thereby improving the overall image printing effect.

[0098] It should be clarified that the present invention is not limited to the specific configurations and processes described above and shown in the figures. For the sake of brevity, detailed descriptions of known methods are omitted here. In the above embodiments, several specific steps are described and shown as examples. However, the method process of the present invention is not limited to the specific steps described and shown. Those skilled in the art can make various changes, modifications, and additions, or change the order of steps, after understanding the spirit of the present invention.

[0099] The functional blocks shown in the above-described structural diagram can be implemented as hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented in hardware, they can be, for example, electronic circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), appropriate firmware, plug-ins, function cards, etc. When implemented in software, the elements of this invention are programs or code segments used to perform the required tasks. The programs or code segments can be stored on a machine-readable medium or transmitted over a transmission medium or communication link via data signals carried in a carrier wave. "Machine-readable medium" can include any medium capable of storing or transmitting information. Examples of machine-readable media include electronic circuits, semiconductor memory devices, ROM, flash memory, erasable ROM (EROM), floppy disks, CD-ROMs, optical disks, hard disks, fiber optic media, radio frequency (RF) links, etc. Code segments can be downloaded via computer networks such as the Internet, intranets, etc.

[0100] It should also be noted that the exemplary embodiments mentioned in this invention describe methods or systems based on a series of steps or apparatus. However, this invention is not limited to the order of the steps described above; that is, the steps can be performed in the order mentioned in the embodiments, or in a different order, or several steps can be performed simultaneously.

[0101] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, modules, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here. It should be understood that the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, and these modifications or substitutions should all be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for inkjet printing over overlapping areas of a printhead assembly, characterized in that, The method involves increasing the number of printhead groups from the existing M to N, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, N is greater than M, and M is a natural number greater than or equal to 1. The N printhead groups are arranged along the main scanning direction, and each printhead group consists of at least two printheads joined together. Obtain the region printing data corresponding to the overlapping area between the N printhead groups from the original printing data corresponding to the M printhead groups; The area print data is split into first print data and second print data, wherein the first print data is printed by the nozzles of the splicing area in the overlapping area, and the second print data is printed by the nozzles of the non-splicing area in the overlapping area. After splitting the first printed data into N first printed data units, feathering is performed on each first printed data unit to obtain N first feathered printed data units and N first complementary feathered printed data units. The second printed data is divided into N second printed data units; The process of combining N copies of the first feathered print data unit and N copies of the first complementary feathered print data unit with N copies of the second print data unit and sending them to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output printing includes: dividing the second print data unit into at least a second print data subunit J and a second print data subunit K; combining the first feathered print data unit and the second print data subunit J to obtain third print data; combining the first complementary feathered print data unit and the second print data subunit K to obtain fourth print data; and so on, obtaining N copies of third print data and N copies of fourth print data, which are then sent to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output printing.

2. The inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of printhead assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the first printed data units is feathered using different first feathering templates to obtain N sets of first feathered printed data and N sets of first complementary feathered printed data.

3. The inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of printhead assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, Using the same first feathering template, each of the first printed data units is feathered to obtain N copies of first feathered printed data and N copies of first complementary feathered printed data.

4. The inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of printhead assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that, When N equals 2, the step of splitting the first printed data into N first printed data units includes: The first print data is split into N first print data units using a second feathering template.

5. The inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of printhead assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first feathering template and the second feathering template are the same or the first feathering template and the second feathering template are different.

6. The inkjet printing method for overlapping areas of printhead assembly according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that, The height of the splicing area is determined according to the arrangement of the N nozzle groups, and the height of the first feathering template is the height of the splicing area.

7. An inkjet printing device for overlapping areas of printhead assembly, characterized in that, The device increases the number of printhead groups from the original M to N, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, N is greater than M, and M is a natural number greater than or equal to 1. The N printhead groups are arranged along the main scanning direction, and each printhead group consists of at least two printheads joined together. The device includes: The print data acquisition module is used to acquire the region print data corresponding to the overlapping area between the N print head groups from the original print data corresponding to the M print head groups; The first splitting module is used to split the area printing data into first printing data and second printing data, wherein the first printing data is printed by the nozzles of the splicing area in the overlapping area, and the second printing data is printed by the nozzles of the non-splicing area in the overlapping area. The feathering module is used to split the first print data into N first print data units, and then feather each of the first print data units to obtain N first feathered print data units and N first complementary feathered print data units. The second splitting module is used to split the second printed data into N second printed data units; The printing module is used to combine N copies of the first feathered printing data unit and N copies of the first complementary feathered printing data unit with N copies of the second printing data unit and send them to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output printing. The module includes: dividing the second printing data unit into at least a second printing data subunit J and a second printing data subunit K; combining the first feathered printing data unit and the second printing data subunit J to obtain third printing data; combining the first complementary feathered printing data unit and the second printing data subunit K to obtain fourth printing data; and so on, obtaining N copies of the third printing data and N copies of the fourth printing data, which are then sent to the corresponding nozzles in the N printhead groups for ink output printing.

8. An inkjet printing device for overlapping areas of printhead assembly, characterized in that, include: At least one processor, at least one memory, and computer program instructions stored in the memory, which, when executed by the processor, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-6.

9. A storage medium storing computer program instructions thereon, characterized in that, The method as described in any one of claims 1-6 is implemented when the computer program instructions are executed by the processor.

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